Being promoted to a VP position is not like any other promotion. It represents a dramatic leap forward into an entire new category of positions in large companies. Becoming a VP represents a shift from a professional capabilities role to one that now revolves primarily around executive leadership capabilities.

If you are part of a leadership team in a company that is tasked with the responsibility of deciding whether or not a director should be given VP status, below are 4 factors to consider:

There is no more human of an action than giving time and treasure to help people who you have never met and for benefits you may never receive. It has been proven this act releases pleasure chemicals in our brain, making it something we want to do again and again.

Lower level giving relies on this fact of biology to bring in donations through the mail, on-line, events, and kettles. This serves as the base of the giving pyramid.

Major gifts is perched atop this pyramid, demonstrating year after year that no sector on earth can monetize a relationship better than our own. Name another industry as capable of using value-based pricing. You can’t…Read more

I recently left the fantastic Corporate Engagement team at Northwestern University, where I served for over 3 years as the research analyst. I had many responsibilities, but most projects could be bucketed into two broad areas, prospect research and institutional analysis. Over my time there, my experiences with corporate prospects led me to think of them as a unique category of philanthropic support worth noting.

First, in a recent report on corporate giving from Bentz Whaley Flessner, one key finding indicated that corporate foundations have not increased their funding of non-profits at the same rate as budgets from other units within a corporate prospect. Because of this fact, there are still…Read more

By Gil Israeli, GI Financial Resource Development and Dir. of Operation, Osher ELC

The Director of Development in a small operation says to the Development Associate, “Answer this question!”

Then: “Just her gifts.”

Or: “What boards is she on?”

“Answer this question!” is common in the nonprofit where the ED and Dir. of Development may be the same person. On a shoestring budget, she can’t afford a wealth screening or to buy prospect lists or to bring in a hotshot consultant. Perhaps the database and prospect pool are sorely lacking. She can’t spend time writing research reports…Read more

By Gil Israeli, GI Financial Resource Development and Dir. of Operations, Osher ELC

When seeking to connect with a major gifts prospect, it is smart fundraising to draw on a lay person who knows the prospect well or can connect to the prospect through a few degrees of separation. Since this isn’t always possible, the next best strategy is to introduce and connect people who share avid, strong affiliations and affinities. One anthropologist has described these social traits as “co-membership” – unique points of contact in shared identity.

The really good fundraisers and prospect researchers go beyond identifying prospects and look for points of co-membership between your helpful community and prospects. These are ideal launch pads for relationship-building and just a few of these include… Read more

In 2001 Enron Energy collapsed due to financial manipulations and a moribund board. It was the seventh-largest company in the United States. Andrew Fastow, the former CFO and architect of the manipulations served more than five years in prison for securities fraud. He recently offered the following comments to business board members that, in my opinion, are currently relevant to nonprofit boards. Quotations from the article are italicized.

• One explanation of his downfall was he didn’t stop to ask whether the decisions he was making were ethical (moral).

Nonprofits directors and managers can find themselves in similar situations. One obvious parallel is when a conflict of interest occurs. A recent court case documented instances in which… Read more

Fundraising requires a paradoxical balance of audacity and humility. It requires both describing a seriously challenging situation or social ill, while also displaying an immense amount of optimism and vision for creating a brighter future.

In many ways, fundraising is like prophecy.

The most satisfying and effective fundraising meetings don’t start with a pitch. Much like the prophecies of the Bible, they start by pointing out a problem and presenting an alluring vision.

Infiltrate? Such a strong word. But let’s ask: Has your organization succeeded at leveraging prospect research – specifically, you – in its drive to cultivate donors?

Do you know this maxim: There’s truth in every stereotype. So, is it possible that a few of your colleagues view you (the prospect researcher) as introspective, a bit on the social-periphery at work , a person that merely looks up data, and happy in your cog-like position in the organization? This is harsh stuff. Still, I must say, I’ve heard some of this over the years and prospect researcher colleagues have shared their similar experiences with me.

Us knowledge workers earn our living in a world that is supported by stereotyping behavior. Ours is a fast-moving society, especially one in which our non-profit employment has been so shaped and streamlined by technology for each one of us so that our identities have also been shaped to yield the fastest and (ideally) loqest-cost paths to revenue. We stereotype to create a quick shorthand to navigate social situations, especially immediate short-lived ones. Even worse…

Sometimes we men just don’t get it – especially when it comes to giving and philanthropy. As a prospect researcher and fundraising consultant in Ottawa (Canada’s capital) for the past decade, I’ve often heard the refrain that “Women don’t write the big cheques”. Really?

This assertion misses the fundamental point that men and women have different perspectives, in part due to their gender. There are distinct differences in our approaches to philanthropy and community engagement and in the way men and women connect with the cause (both financial and personal). Read more

The dinner was in a private dinning room with high ceilings and grand windows looking out to the dancing lights of downtown – a jungle of glass towers and pedestrian streets, bustling at all hours in this massive urban capital of one of China’s most populated provinces. Above the enormous round table was a beautiful modern chandelier, which set the quiet, but extravagant tone of the whole decor. The room also came with a private bathroom, bar, and a team of waiters. Our host, Mr. Zhang was a successful local entrepreneur, impeccably dressed at all times, humble and soft-spoken. As a fundraising professional from a zoo in Canada, I was with my President to attend. Read more